The normal heart rate of a human is between 60 to 100 beats per minute, but now Ismail was anything but normal. His heart rate was quite the double of normal, and his breathing was uneven. It was the first time he saw someone's death that close, and he was horrified. He perspired so badly that his outfit clasped to his body, but his hands rested cold.

With the slightest spirit, he murmured the man's name. He really hoped Rahil was alive. The man was to get married in a few minutes and wasn't supposed to die. There was no way Ismail could return without the groom. The villagers would hang him if he did.

As time passed, Ismail was convinced that Rahil was dead, yet he waited some time before he reached out to touch him. He placed his hand on his chest, hoping for a tiny flicker of beat, and also checked his wrist for a pulse. The body was cold now and, thankfully, no longer electrified.

"Rahil? Can you hear me?"

Ismail knew he was being foolish, but he demanded to be sure that he wasn't dreaming. He shook the man and begged him to be alive. He waited and waited, but saw no movement. On the verge of a breakdown, he wept as he embraced Rahil's body.

As it had already been half an hour since the village brightened, some villagers screamed for the groom and Ismail. It was late at night, and the Qazi Sahab had arrived, but the groom was nowhere to be found. Only people knew their location, and Ismail heard their advancing footsteps.

"Babu! Rahil! Are you guys here?"

"The Qazi Sahab is waiting, Rahil. Your bride is waiting, come out of your den now!"

Ismail remained seated with Rahil's body on his lap, mourning over the disaster. It was Ramesh who found him that way, and he was astounded at the scene.

"Boss, why-why is Rahil unconscious?"

Ramesh stooped beside Ismail and shook Rahil, peeping at Ismail's teary face. When there was no movement, recognition dawned on him, and he called out to the visiting relatives.

"Uncle, Suma, come here!" Ramesh yelled, "Rahil is not moving!"

The addressed people materialized, and Ismail was never as ashamed as he was now. Though there was no fault of his own, he couldn't help blaming himself. Maybe he could have prevented all of it if he had not called Rahil to the company, if he never knew Rahil, or if he never came to Kolar at all.

"Boss, what's going on here?"

Rahil's uncle shook Rahil and after a few seconds, he mumbled, "Inna lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji'oon."

"To Allah we belong, and to Him shall we return."

Ramesh understood the meaning given by Rahil's cousin and fell back to the ground. Nobody could believe that a close family member passed away seconds before his wedding. Serving as a reminder, Rahil impressed everyone, even at the stage of his departure. A man with a good character echoed throughout, and everyone agreed without a doubt.

"We should head back to his place. The wedding is cancelled."

The words were neglected when Rahil's cousin spoke, "What happened here?"

Ismail was silent, unable to form proper words due to shock. He was taken aback when his cousin slapped him.

"You killed him, didn't you?"

Ramesh shook his head and stood between Ismail and the cousin before he did any damage. Accidents happened all the time, and it was nobody's fault but some people didn't get through it.

"It was an accident," Ismail said groggily, "I was outside, and he was rebuilding. When electricity returned, Rahil was already gone."

"You did this!" The cousin blamed, "You killed Rahil! You called him out to fix things, and you killed him!"

"No, I did not-"

"Yes, you did!"

Before the cousin sprung on Ismail, his uncle interfered and said, "Don't do any more damage now. Let's head back to his place. Inform everyone that the wedding is cancelled."

Rahil's body was lifted by his uncle, and Ramesh ran towards the village to notify everyone. When Ismail stood up, Rahil's cousin breathed fire and punched him. The former fell to the ground so hard that blood covered his mouth. He coughed, but the cousin saw red as he sat on top of him.

"You killed my cousin!"

Ismail shook himself harder and toppled the cousin over. He spat on his side and held his collar, "I didn't do anything!"

A few punches were exchanged, and the cousin groaned in pain after Ismail laid on the ground with bruises. When Ramesh returned, he was taken aback to see them both on the floor, exhausted to death.

"The village heads have called you, boss!"

Ismail moaned when Ramesh helped him to his feet. He turned back and glared at Rahil's cousin, who returned the same. Ramesh acted as a barrier between the two, and minutes later, they were on their way to Rahil's place.

The entire place was still lit up as earlier. Noise and the cries of children echoed in the background, and people's displeasure was evident on their faces. It was almost the same except that the elders now talked about Rahil's death rather than governments, and the women cried about the event rather than jewellery.

Ismail was shocked as it is, and the directed glares discouraged him harder. Everyone seemed to talk about him as they gossiped and glanced his way. He stood beside Ramesh, the only man he hoped would support him against the villagers.

"Mr. Ismail Shariff, do you care to explain the situation?"

The addressed man gulped and nodded, understanding the change in his nickname. He narrated the entire incident and also his original reaction to the whole electricity plan. Though many conceded the situation and looked like they were on his side, he was unconvinced. The village heads gave the final verdict, and he wasn't yet ready to accept their judgement.

"We will give our final decision after some time. It is better to arrange Rahil's funeral first."

Among the many who agreed, Ismail was one. When he was about to go inside the house, one of the main heads, Prajwal Gowda approached him.

"Ismail, it is better for you to not take part in the funeral. The villagers assume you are the reason for the man's death."

"But I'm not! You are the head here, please do something."

Prajwal sighed, "We are in this position for a reason. Considering all the facts, I understand you have no fault, but there are other heads too. And their opinion matters just as much as mine."

"I get it."

"Take care, son. It is better you stay at home after the funeral and come out only when called." Prajwal saw Ismail nod his head and continued, "And the company has to be stopped for a while. Nobody will be able to give a chance to something that's caused the destruction of their loved one."

That was a low blow but Ismail knew better than to quarrel. He bobbed his head reluctantly and marched back home.

Alone in the house, he missed Kumar and his father. They were his support for years, and he fell into trouble without their presence although he had planned everything perfectly. For the first time in years, Ismail saw his planned strategy tasted earth. Gradually, tears gathered at the corner of his eyes, and he wondered if anyone else sensed the same distress as him. A nagging feeling settled in his stomach and he guessed the judgement would be against him in every possible way.

Placing his phone on the side table, he plugged in its charger and laid on his bed. The house was so quiet that he could hear the echoes of his breathing. A few minutes later, he almost dozed off when someone arrived at his door.

Ramesh knocked on the door at the speed of lightning. His employer took his own time and when Ismail reached Ramesh, relief washed over him.

"Ramesh?"

"Boss, they're burying Rahil now. I heard they sent you home, so I came to tell you. You should come to the prayer at least."

With residual strength, Ismail hugged Ramesh. If there was anyone he could trust, it was undoubtedly Ramesh. The man not only gave absurd ideas to create humour but also grew as a pillar of support during the toughest times.

"Thank you for everything, Ramesh."

Ramesh smiled in response and provoked him to follow. They couldn't go in front of everyone, and Ramesh knew the backside of the village to reach their location. And like everyone else, they shed tears when Rahil was buried.

True to his earlier words, Ismail never saw anything of that kind.

***

The Fajr invitation to prayer was called and everyone walked to the masjid to pray. Since Ismail was strictly asked to stay inside, he had walked home as soon as Rahil was buried.

Hours later, the people of the village gathered in a huge field where Ismail sat on one side of the main table consisting of village heads. The heads consisted of three members, and one of them was Prajwal Gowda. They were highly respected and by the looks of it, nobody ever went against them or their verdict. That had tensed Ismail to a greater extent.

When someone hosted and announced the topic for their gathering, the crowd began to chatter. While the village heads discussed, Ismail prayed mentally for a judgement that wouldn't risk his life. He already had second thoughts about the villagers. If they could change his name in a second, they wouldn't hesitate to kill him at any moment.

Thirty minutes later, a village head who Ismail didn't know stood up and silence spread over the area like wildfire. The man cleared his throat and spoke, "We have lost a dear friend yesterday due to certain circumstances, and the village chief has decided to grant ten thousand to the family."

The crowd whispered, making Ismail wonder at their delight. In the city, ten thousand was hardly possible to be maintained for a week. After all, person needed a lot more than just food these days.

The main head raised his hand to continue his speech and the crowd silenced in seconds, "Also, it is our responsibility to take care of someone he left behind. Though the woman never got a chance at being his wife, we cannot let her suffer a lifetime of humiliation. Thus, we have come to the conclusion that –"

Before they came to the main situation, the once confused Ismail fumed as they announced the results, "The bride will be married to the city Babu, Mr. Ismail Shariff."

Except for Ismail, all the villagers appeared happy and satisfied as the whispering began. There was no opposition, no discussion and nobody asked for his opinion. The village was best known for their attention to women, but he doubted it at that moment. Not only had they declared a woman's marriage to a complete stranger, but they also had not cared about the woman's opinion.

Despite the terrified look on his face, Ismail raised his hand to respond. Unlike before, nobody calmed down and he walked to the table himself.

"I cannot marry her."

Prajwal Gowda and the other heads were taken aback as if someone had poured cold water on them. Ismail didn't say anything more and waited for them to react to his opinion. While he expected an angry reply, the earlier speaker smiled and said, "Mr. Ismail Shariff, your opinion on this topic doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. You are marrying the woman to me who you don't realize could be a stranger."

"Babu, you are no stranger to us."

Ismail snorted at the addressed nickname and said, "But what about the woman? Won't you ask if she agrees to this?"

Suddenly, the village head stood up and the crowd locked their noise. He scanned the crowd and then glanced at Ismail and said, "People, we have someone who has opposed our decision."

The people oohed in a chorus.

"The city man doesn't want to marry the bride."

Ismail felt the death glares from the crowd and gulped in fear. He knew nobody had ever opposed their decision in years.

"Why?"

Someone in the crowd yelled and Ismail was almost relieved that there were no shoes or vegetables thrown at him. Villagers could get violent if they wanted to.

"First of all," Ismail cleared his throat, "You guys know a few things about me that do not hold evidence to my character. As for the bride, her answer to the marriage is as important as mine."

A man stood up from the crowd and everyone turned towards him. Ismail vaguely recognized him but gave him a chance to reply. The man smirked before he said, "I saw this man coming out of the bride's house one night."

The crowd gasped loud enough for everyone to be against Ismail. Now he recalled how he met the man the other night when he crashed into an unknown woman. Realization hit him hard when the pieces fit together. The woman he had helped was Rahil's bride, an orphan.

"When did this happen?"

"Even I saw him!"

"Are they running away today?"

The village heads glanced at one another and called Ismail to their side, "Listen, Mr. Shariff, it is important for you to understand the depth of the situation. Not only have the villagers seen you with the bride, but your negligence will cost the woman her life."

He shook his head and said, "No, you don't understand. I was there that night to rescue the woman. There was an unconscious man when I reached there, and that is the same man who is arguing-"

The village heads exchanged a knowing look as Ismail continued his tale. Before he reached its end, the crowd went silent, and he turned to see Prajwal Gowda addressing them once again, "Babu has agreed to marry the bride."

And all the love and respect that Ismail had gathered for the villagers vanished by a decision.